When You Cry
by cowgirlangel95
Summary: When getting ready for his first class, Lucas spots Riley, but she refuses to acknowledge him. All Lucas can tell is that she is in pain, but what that pain is, he can't figure out. Seeing her like this worries him, but will she tell him what is going on?


_**A/N: Heyo! I honestly didn't think that I'd have another one shot posted so soon considering my workload, but here it is. So the inspiration for this one shot came about when I was listening to Hunter Hayes' song, Cry with You, last night. It is such a beautiful song, as are most of his songs. Go ahead and give it a listen :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Girl Meets World**_

Lucas made his way through the sea of people, trying to get to his locker so he can continue to get ready for the day. He wasn't really focused on anything as he walked through the halls; the only thing running through his mind was his plan of action so he could make it to class on time. High school was definitely different than middle school. For one thing, a _lot_ more people to maneuver around.

As his locker neared him, Lucas looked up and saw Riley heading in his general direction. He smiled and was about to greet her when she looked up and made eye contact with him. Lucas thought she would give him one of the smiles he loved so much, but instead of seeing her bright and cheerful face, he saw one of pain instead.

The eye contact between them didn't last more than a second before Riley broke it and increased her pace, trying to get past Lucas as quickly as she could.

"Riley?" he asked with concern filling his voice as he tried to get her attention. But she didn't respond. She ducked her head away from him even more and continued on her way.

Once she disappeared into the crowd, Lucas raised an eyebrow as he continued to watch her walk down the hall. It didn't take a genius to realize that something was bothering her, but what it could be, he had no clue. She was fine when he was with her yesterday afternoon at Svorski's.

_So what happened between then and now?_ he wondered as he approached his locker and gathered his materials for his first class. Seeing Riley like this worried him. Lucas recalled seeing her like this only a few times before, and even then she didn't seem this down.

Lucas headed to his first class and sat down in his seat towards the front of the room. Since there was a couple of minutes before class started, he pulled out his phone and sent Riley a text asking if she was alright. Once it sent, he slid it back in his pocket and waited for her response. However, as the seconds passed, he didn't receive one. The seconds turned into minutes and there was still no response from her. Now he was really starting to get worried. As the class passed, the more Lucas couldn't concentrate on what was happening in that room. His mind kept focusing on Riley, and was trying to figure out what had happened and if she'll be okay.

Luckily for him, he wasn't called on during class, and when the bell rang for homeroom, Lucas shot out of his seat and began his latest search for Riley. It didn't last long before he spotted Maya a few yards away from him, also wearing a downcast expression.

"Hey, Maya!" he called out, hoping getting her attention would be as hard as Riley.

Like he had hoped, Maya turned her head and made eye contact with him. "What is it, Lucas?" she replied in a monotone voice.

Lucas raised his eyebrow once again as he stopped a couple of feet in front of her. _Maya not calling me by one of her nick names for me? What is going on?! _He shoved the thought to the back of his mind and continued on. "Do you know what's wrong with Riley? I've tried asking but she didn't respond to me trying to get her attention or my texts."

Maya nodded slightly as she closed her eyes. "Yeah, I know why."

"What is it?" he pleaded. "Is she okay?"

She shrugged. "It's not my business to say…" Maya trailed off as she began to turn to walk away from him.

"What? Maya, I don't understand –" he began, but Maya gut him off.

"Would you just stop trying to press me for details?!" she spat as she turned back around and balled her hands into fists.

Her sudden burst of anger shocked Lucas, causing him to back up a couple of steps. It also caught the attention of some students standing nearby, but they soon went back to their conversation as if nothing happened.

Maya took a few calming breaths as she unclenched her fists. "Look, if you wanna know, you have to talk to Riley about it. If she's willing, she'll tell you… but that's up to her," she explained, bringing her hands up to show that was all she had, or could, give.

Lucas nodded. "Okay, thanks," he replied. And with that, Lucas set off to find Riley. He had an idea of where she would be. Usually if she needed to be alone, she'd go where the least amount of people hung out – the hallway by the band room. The only people that went there were the people who had band during that block of time or if they were headed to lessons. Other than that, it was usually deserted.

As he quietly rounded the corner, Lucas saw Riley sitting at the base of the empty lockers with her knees pulled up to her chest, and her eyes staring into space. He walked up to where she was, unslung his bag from his shoulder, and sat down beside her. So far, she hadn't acknowledged his presence, but he knew that she knew he was there.

Lucas rested his arms on his knees and let out a quiet breath. "Hey."

Riley closed her eyes, causing a tear to spill over onto her cheek. "Hey," she whispered, her voice barely audible to Lucas' ears.

"Are you okay?"

Lucas heard her gulp as she slowly shook her head.

"Do you wanna tell me about it?"

Riley released a sigh as she rested her head up against the locker. More tears spilled as she bit her lip and leaned her head onto Lucas' shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her to offer her some comfort as she buried her face into his chest. Lucas wanted to be able to say something to her, but he didn't know what. He didn't know what was upsetting her so much, so he couldn't exactly say something that might solve the problem. For now, Lucas settled with cradling her in his arms and gently rubbing his hand on her shoulder.

They stayed like this for a while before Riley muttered an apology.

Lucas shook his head. "Don't apologize. I hate seeing you like this; I just wanna listen to whatever you'll tell me. And keeping it inside won't fix whatever's bothering you."

Riley nodded as she repositioned herself in his arms. "It's my aunt…" she began, trailing as she tried to find the words.

"Morgan?"

She shook her head. "No, my mom's sister… Aunt Nebula. We call her Aunt Nebbie. I don't see her very often because she travels quite a bit… she has ever since she was younger. Even though my family doesn't get to see her very often, she and I still kept in touch via email. She'd even send something for me every once in a while from whatever country she was in. And when she'd visit, her, mom, Maya, and I would go out and have a bunch of fun. It was such a blast. Well, last night we got some news about her. She became very ill suddenly, and she has a slim chance at surviving…" she explained before another sob escaped her lips. "And I just don't know what I'd do without her in my life! Reading her stories about her adventures, having a ball when she'd visit us…"

Lucas brought her closer to him. He could feel the pain she was experiencing grip his heart. He supposed that everyone could relate to what Riley was feeling, but it never makes it easier.

"I'm sorry, Riley… I really am. I wish I could make this go away… even though I know I can't. I can't give you every answer that you need, but I will tell you this. No matter what, you're not alone. I'm always here to listen to you when you need a shoulder to cry on."

Riley nodded. "I know you are… and thanks."

"Anytime."

The two of them remained that way until the bell ending homeroom echoed through the halls.

"You going to head to class?" Riley asked with a hint of dread in her voice.

Lucas shook his head. "No. I'm not going anywhere," he responded as a single tear fell from his eyes.

_**A/N #2: Don't worry, I didn't kill Nebbie! I honestly couldn't kill any of the BMW or GMW characters off, no matter how small a role they might have had. I hope you like the explanation I had for her never really being in BMW ever again. Let me know what you thought of it overall by leaving a review! Pretty please? Only takes a second! Thanks for reading. ~cowgirlangel95 out!**_


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